Friday, December 30

The most awesome games of 2011

Instead of talking about my favourite games of the year like I have in the past, I’m going to talk about the most awesome games of the year. This is not a best of list because everyone does them. I’d rather be different. Heck, this isn’t even a list; it’s just a post about the most awesome games of the year. The key difference between the best and the most awesome is that you don’t have to be good to be awesome … although it helps.

Most awesome fighting game: Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3

While yes, Mortal Kombat is the better fighting game of the two, you can’t deny how awesome it is for Marvel and Capcom characters gathering together to beat the living crap out of each other. This crossover fighter has been anticipated since 2000, when MVC2 released. While the game doesn’t have enough bonus content, even the Ultimate version, the gameplay is fast and fun enough to keep you coming back for more. Besides, who doesn’t want to pit Deadpool against Dante of the Devil May Cry series or Ghost Rider against the gang of demons from Capcom? Add in the newly released Heroes and Heralds mode (free DLC) and this game is full of awesome.

Most awesome shooter game: Gears of War 3

One could argue that there were better shooting games this year, but were they more awesome? Were they more awesome than using the various monsters from the series to kill those pesky humans in Beast mode? How about charging through all the enemy traps with the berserker or eating peoples’ ankles with the Serapede. Horde mode has been revamped into a tower defense game with boss waves. This game brings in a bunch of new weapons like the digger, which sends a bomb crawling through the ground until it senses someone nearby, and then it jumps out and explodes. Last but not least, who can deny the insanity of the game’s intense campaign climax as the humans, the locusts, and the lambent fight a giant 3-way battle? This game is simply awesome.

Most awesome RPG of the year: Skyrim

It’s a huge open world RPG with dragons, a civil war, vampires and werewolves (you can join them) and a combat system that would be alright for an action game like God of War. Throw in some amazing graphics, an epic soundtrack, and hilarious glitches that don’t break the game. The main story, while somewhat short, is satisfying, and the game includes at least five side-plots that could make their own game if expanded a little. This game almost has too much to do, yet everything is satisfying. What are you waiting for? Check this awesome game out; it’s your duty as a gamer.

Most awesomely bad game: Duke Nukem Forever

For a game that took 15 years to finish, you’d think they spent less than five months on this titanic piece of trash. Long loading screens, uneven gameplay and difficulty, outdated pop culture references, and loads of other problems that plague this disappointment. Throw in some missed joke opportunities in with the now obscure references, offensive levels that use rape as a joke (not kidding) and a bare bones multiplayer mode and you have Duke Nukem Forever. Why is it awesome then? It’s still the ultimate punch line of the gaming industry. The game’s development took forever just to pump out this game that doesn’t even know what era it wants to represent. Better yet, there are people who are still convinced that it is a good game – the joke is on them, and that’s awesome!

Most awesome adventure game: Zelda: Skyward Sword

This might actually be the best Zelda game ever made. At the least, it’s the greatest Wii Zelda game so far. It contains the biggest innovations for the series since it went 3d with Ocarina of Time, it lays the foundations for every other Zelda game ever made (as a prequel,) and … any Zelda game that hasn’t played this needs to play it as soon as possible, it’s that awesome.

Most awesome Superhero game: Batman: Arkham City

I could summarize this by saying that Arkham City is likely the greatest Superhero game ever made, and there are a lot of them. That wouldn’t be enough though. The game features every major Batman villain ever, in a tightly wound story with plenty of side-quests and collectables to keep you coming for more. Add the fact that you can play as Catwoman and Nightwing through downloadable content and you have a game that deserves its place among any gamer’s collection, and any Batman fan’s collection. This is what Spider-Man: Edge of Time should have been like, but with web swinging instead of gliding. I can’t think of a single complaint about this game. In other words, this game is pure awesome.

And those are the most awesome games of the year. What are your favourites?